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Charter of Zenith
=Overview= Zenith drafted a new Charter in fall of 2009. The new Charter abolished the triumvirate and ministers in favor of an elected Overseer and appointed Advisors. =Text= The Second Charter of the Alliance of Zenith Effective the 7th day of October, 2009 Preamble: In the course of the existence of an alliance, it sometimes becomes necessary to reexamine the identity of that alliance and the protocols that govern it. Such reexamination is not merely a sign of weakness, rather it can be a sign of strength and self-awareness, a recognition by the people of the alliance that nothing is set in stone and sometimes the best way to enter the future is to reexamine the past. Article One: The Members of Zenith Section One: Who is a Member A. All nations of Zenith who have passed their initial orientation training are full members of Zenith and possess the same rights and privileges of members of Zenith who have been a member since the beginning. These rights and privileges include: 1. The right to a vigorous defense from hostile attacks by outside parties. 2. The right to equal access to aid and advice in growing their nations. 3. The right to voice their opinions and vote on important issues that affect the individual membership and alliance as a whole including treaties, declarations of war, and member misconduct proceedings. 4. The right to govern their nations as they see fit as long as they do not infringe upon the ability of other members of Zenith to govern their nations or put the safety of Zenith in jeopardy. B. In addition to having rights and privileges, members of Zenith also are also subject to certain obligations. Failing to meet these obligations may be grounds for dismissal from the alliance. 1. Members of Zenith are expected to remain respectful to each other at all times. Zenith recognizes that disagreements happen, but members are encouraged to keep things civil at all times and overly harsh criticism, name calling, and disruptiveness will not be tolerated. 2. Members of Zenith are expected to assist each other in times of crisis because by working together, they are able to do more than they are alone. In the event that a member of Zenith is under attack, the other members of Zenith are expected to come to their aid. 3. Members of Zenith are expected to be engaged in the business of the alliance. Although Zenith recognizes that not everyone can be vigorously active, members are expected to be active in at least some capacity. At a minimum, members of Zenith shall be expected to read and respond to official communications from the leaders of Zenith relating to issues that affect the entire alliance. 4. Members of Zenith are expected to live up to the commitments that they make to each other. Therefore, members are expected to carry through on their promises to sell technology to or trade with other members. 5. Members of Zenith are expected to respect the secrecy of the alliance at all times. Therefore, members are expected to respect the fact that information from inside the alliance is meant to remain within the alliance and disseminating information to outside parties without authorization shall not be tolerated. Section Two: How to Apply A. Any nation can be a member of Zenith provided that the nation’s ruler is not already a member of another alliance and is not currently under attack by another alliance for crimes against them such as spying, rogue attacks, or misconduct leading to expulsion from that alliance. B. To become of member of Zenith a nation ruler must post a thread in the Application forum giving their: 1. Nation Name: 2. Ruler Name: 3. Nation Link: 4. Previous Alliances if Applicable: C. Zenith retains its right to be selective for just, honest and open reasons. If a nation is denied admission, a reason must be provided to that nation for that denial. If the nation lists previous alliances, those alliances will be contacted for a character reference that will be taken into account when considering the nation’s application. However, the membership of Zenith also recognizes that sometimes people make mistakes and that past mistakes do not necessarily dictate future ones. Therefore, applicants to Zenith will be given the benefit of the doubt and will not be denied admittance solely because of a bad reference from a previous alliance. Article Two: The Structure of Zenith Section One: The General Structure of Zenith A. Zenith shall be a collective where all members have the opportunity to have their say in the governing of the alliance. Therefore: 1. All members of Zenith shall have the right to know any information that could affect the internal and external state of the alliance. 2. All members of Zenith shall have the right to voice their opinion about any actions the alliance takes. 3. All members of Zenith shall have the right to vote on all legislation that is passed by the Zenith leadership. B. Zenith will be directly governed by its members and an affirmative vote of the membership shall be required to do the following: 1. Sign and cancel treaties 2. Declare war and declare peace 3. Amend the Charter 4. Disband the alliance 5. Investigate and punish incidents of member misconduct 6. Pass any other legislation that affects the alliance as a whole Section Two: The Leadership of the Alliance A. Although an affirmative vote of the members of Zenith is necessary to pass legislation, the day to day governing of the alliance will be carried out by the Overseer and his/her Panel of Advisors. 1. The Overseer a. The Overseer shall be the head of leadership of Zenith and shall serve as the public face of the alliance. b. The Overseer shall be chosen every two months by popular vote of the members of Zenith. The election process shall have the following duration: 1. Two day nomination period. 2. Two day campaign/debate period. 3. Two day voting period. c. The Overseer may be removed by majority vote of the membership of Zenith. If The Overseer is removed, a special election must be held immediately to select a new Overseer. d. The Overseer shall have the power to appoint Advisors to his/her panel of Advisors. 2. The Panel of Advisors a. The Panel of Advisors serves as an advisory body to the Overseer and assists him/her with the day to day running of the alliance. b. Advisors may be appointed to assist the Overseer with any area that s/he feels is necessary and the Overseer may have as many or as few Advisors as s/he desires. c. All members are eligible to apply for appointment to be an Advisor but the Overseer has the power to decide who will may serve as an Advisor and for how long. 3. Grounds for Removal a. The Overseer may be removed by popular vote of the members of Zenith for the following reasons: 1. Inactivity. 2. Incompetence. 3. Abuse of authority. 4. Failure to act with the best interests of the alliance in mind. 5. Other misconduct as defined in Article Two, Section Four. b. The Advisors of The Overseer may be removed by the unilateral action of The Overseer or by popular vote of the membership. Advisors may be removed for the following reasons: 1. Inactivity. 2. Incompetence. 3. Abuse of authority. 4. Failure to act with the best interests of the alliance in time. 5. Other misconduct as defined in Article Two, Section Four. Section Three: The Governing of the Alliance A. Although the majority of the decision making power in the alliance shall lie with the members, the Overseer and the Advisors shall have the power to make quick executive decisions when the situation demands. The situations where the Overseer and the Advisors may make executive decisions are 1. Mobilizing quick responses to rogue attacks on members of Zenith. 2. Mobilizing preliminary responses to organized attacks on Zenith from outside alliances. 3. Conducting the day to day running of the alliance. 4. Proposing and accepting preliminary ceasefires. B. Decisions that have a more lasting impact on the future of the alliance shall be made by the membership of Zenith as a whole. 1. Types of Legislation Requiring a Member Vote a. Signing and canceling treaties. b. Issuing formal declarations of war. c. Proposing and accepting surrender terms. d. Amending the Charter e. Disbanding the alliance 2. The Voting Process a. The member who is proposing the legislation posts a thread in Zenith’s private discussion chamber. b. The member answers questions about the legislation they are proposing and explains why it would be a good path for the alliance to take. c. After a discussion period of two days (48 hours), a two day (48 hour) voting period begins. d. All members of Zenith have the opportunity to vote and if a sufficient number of Zenith members that voted were in favor of the legislation, the policy is enacted. If a member fails to cast his or her vote, the vote shall be treated as an abstention and the votes shall be tallied as if the members who did not vote did not exist. 3. Specific Voting Margins Required a. Certain types of legislation require a special margin to pass, including: 1. Charter amendments: 66% 2. Alliance mergers or disbandments: 75% b. Other types of legislation require a 51% margin to pass, including but not limited to: 1. Declarations of war. 2. Proposal and acceptance of peace terms. 3. Signing and canceling treaties. Section Four: The Disciplinary Process A. Although Zenith, like all alliances, values tranquility and peace within its borders, it also recognizes that sometimes, things happen. Zenith has, therefore, established the following disciplinary procedures. B. The following actions shall be considered grounds for disciplinary action by the alliance of Zenith: 1. Failing to live up to any of the obligations listed in Article One, Section One. 2. Carrying out aggressive wars or spy attacks on Zenith members or outside nations without prior approval from The Overseer or a majority of his/her Advisors. 3. Being overly disruptive and hindering the ability of the alliance to conduct itself in an orderly and peaceful fashion. 4. Deserting the alliance during a time of war. C. In the unfortunate event that a member of Zenith becomes disruptive to the point that disciplinary action is warranted, the following process will be used to deal with the issue. 1. A member of Zenith who has been affected by the disruptive conduct submits a complaint to The Overseer or one of his Advisors. The complaint must include who the member in question is, what the complaint is, and what the member submitting the complaint feels should be the punishment. 2. The Overseer investigates the complaint by interviewing the member submitting the complaint and the member who is the subject of the complaint. The Overseer consults with his/her Advisors to determine appropriate punishments. The Overseer posts a thread in the private discussion chamber of Zenith detailing what the complaint is and what the suggested punishment is. 5. The members of Zenith have 48 hours to comment on the disciplinary thread and suggest additional approaches to the issue. 6. After the 48 hour discussion period, the members vote on what approach to take and the alliance works to put it into action. Article Three: The Zenith Doctrine Section One: Treaty Obligations A. Fealty: Zenith shall endeavor to honor its treaties to the fullest extent possible. In the event of a treaty conflict, the leadership of Zenith shall do whatever it can to ensure that the alliance does not face its allies or the closest allies of its allies in armed conflict. B. Currency: To ensure that the diplomatic agreements of Zenith are as intimate and current as possible, the leadership of Zenith shall conduct a review of its treaties every three months. Treaties shall be evaluated to ensure that the relationship between Zenith and the allied alliance reflects the treaty that it holds with them. If, as a result of the review, the relationship between Zenith and the ally is found to no longer reflect the treaty, the leadership of Zenith shall work with the other alliance to determine the best path to take, whether it be increasing communication or considering other diplomatic options. If the relationship is seriously lacking, the treaty may be canceled, however, cancellation of treaties shall never be used to avoid a conflict that honor demands Zenith participate in. Section Two: War in General A. No member of Zenith shall engage in any aggressive attacks or spy missions without prior approval from The Overseer or a majority of his/her Advisors. B. Situations in which aggressive military action may be authorized include but are not limited to alliance wide wars, defense against rogue attacks, and regulated tournaments conducted with the supervision of the Overseer or his/her Advisors. C. If a member of Zenith, or an ally or protectorate is attacked, that member has the right to defend themselves and Zenith will do it’s best to help if needed. Section Three: Alliance Wide Wars A. In cases of aggressive war, the alliance as a whole shall have a power to declare war and shall do so by the voting process detailed in Article Two, Section Three. B. In situations where the safety of Zenith, its members or its protectorates, is under a direct threat, such as attacks on Zenith or its members from rogue nations or aggressive alliances, The Overseer or a majority of his/her Advisors. C. Decisions about long-term peace and surrender terms shall be made by the voting process detailed in Article Two, Section Three. The Overseer and his/her Advisors may negotiate temporary ceasefires, but more lasting terms must be made by the aforementioned process. Section Four: Nuclear Weapons Zenith shall not carry out a first strike nuking unless it is approved by the by The Overseer or a majority of his/her Advisors. Section Five: Tech Raiding Zenith will not condone the use of tech raiding by or on its members. Section Six: Desertion A. In times of alliance war, Zenith members are not allowed to leave the alliance unless they have received prior approval from Zenith's leadership for such a move. B. Surrendering one's nation to the enemy or keeping one's nation in peace mode are allowed if so ordered by Zenith's leadership or if communicated to and approved by Zenith's leadership. C. If Desertion is judged to have occurred by The Overseer, it will be dealt with under the disciplinary proceedings detailed in Article Two, Section Four. Article Four: Ratification This Charter will go into effect when the prior government of Zenith ratifies it under the process detailed in the last Charter. It will remain in effect indefinitely unless altered by the membership of Zenith under the process detailed above. Signed, The 7 of October 2009 by the Assembly of Zenith Sulmar, First Overseer Category: Zenith Zenith Category:Charter of Zenith